President Obama answered questions from students about the cost of college and student loan debt relief during a session with Tumblr founder David Karp. / AP

by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

As members of the Class of 2014 leave the safety of college campuses to begin job hunting, apartment searching and résumé building, they're also bringing with them record levels of student loan debt. In 2012, 39 million students borrowed money to pay for college, and the average debt per borrower was $25,000. That's up from 23 million students with an average debt of $15,000 in 2004, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In addition, 37% of households headed by an adult younger than 40 carried student loan debt in 2010 according to the Pew Research Center (for more on debt, and how students are handling it, see the graphics above).

So we know the student loan crisis is bad, but how do we fix it? Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., pushed a proposal to help young adults with long-standing debt refinance. Her plan, which was blocked in the Senate, would have given those with older loans the chance to take advantage of today's lower interest rates. The plan could have provided relief but, some said, not much. President Obama's plan, which he announced Monday, would expand the cap that sets monthly payments on student loans at 10% of income. A few of our readers gave us their opinion using #tellusatoday about the president's plan:

Despite high debt loads, students are still optimistic. A majority of young adults who borrowed money for college (63%) say their education has already paid off. And 20% of borrowers say that their education will pay off in the future. Do you think the cost of college is worth it?

What do you think of Obama's plan? Is capping monthly payments at 10% enough? What do you think is the best way to ease the burden of student loan debt? Take a look at how students are handling it, what they think the future holds and how college graduates fare when compared with non-graduates in terms of income, share of poverty and wealth accumulation in the graphics above.

After that, share your views in the comments section on this story page, and in the wedgies and quick polls below.